Raptors deal Thunder first loss at home

If the Toronto Raptors can play at home the way they've been playing on the road, they might just remain atop the Atlantic Division for a while.

Kyle Lowry scored 22 points, making a pair of clinching free throws with 9.8 seconds left, and the Raptors handed the Oklahoma City Thunder their first home loss with a 104-98 victory Sunday night.

The Raptors outscored Oklahoma City 6-0 in the final 1:25, all on free throws, and ended the Thunder's nine-game winning streak. Oklahoma City had been 13-0 at home, the NBA's longest unbeaten stretch to open a season since the Cleveland Cavaliers won their first 23 home games during the 2007-08 season.

Amir Johnson had 17 points and 13 assists for Toronto, which won its fourth straight road game, its longest such streak since March-April 2002. Oklahoma City lost for the first time since Dec. 4 at Portland.

Toronto coach Dwane Casey called the win, which moved the Raptors past Boston into first place in the Atlantic, his team's biggest of the season.

“It's one of those mysteries we have, of our focus on the road,” Casey said. “We're a different team. I see it in our eyes before the game.”

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Nets disappointed by Lopez injury: General manager Billy King said Sunday the Brooklyn Nets are disappointed by the latest injury to Brook Lopez but are not in panic mode. Lopez broke his right foot again, leaving the Nets without their leading scorer. King said he will see if there are any worthwhile trades but is confident in the players he already has.

"When you get an injury like this, everybody calls you. Every agent that has a big guy on the sideline calls to offer their services," King said. "But we had been in discussions with a lot of teams up to this point. There's not an imminent move, we're not looking to make any imminent move trade-wise. We've got 14 other guys that can step up, but we'll continue to discuss possibilities if it can make our team better."

Russell Westbrook scored 27 points, and Kevin Durant added 24 for Oklahoma City, which missed its final four shots.

Veteran forward John Salmons, who scored 14 points and hit the go-ahead free throws for Toronto, said winning on the road “just shows our mental toughness as a unit. Sometimes it's fun to play on the road, because it's just us against everybody else.”

Durant finished 5 of 16 from the field and committed six of the Thunder's 19 turnovers.

“Losses happen in this league,” Durant said. “They beat us fair and square, you know? We missed some shots, too. I think our defense was good. They got some shots late in the fourth quarter that helped them a little bit, but I think our defense was good. We were swarming them, and they hit some tough ones, too, but we missed some good looks.”

,Pacers 106, Celtics 79: Lance Stephenson wiggled his hips after a nasty crossover move. Paul George gestured to the crowd with his shooting eye, and Danny Granger showed everyone he still has the touch.

Stephenson finished with his third triple-double this season, George scored 24 points, and Granger made four 3-pointers as the Pacers overwhelmed visiting Boston to ruin coach Brad Stevens' return to his hometown.

“We're starting the game off with high energy, and we're ending the game with high energy, and in between, we're maintaining that energy,” George said. “It wears teams down, and I think that's been the case these past couple games.”

Since losing at home for the first time Monday and losing at Miami on Wednesday, their first back-to-back losses of the season, the Pacers have been almost untouchable. They led for the final 38 minutes against Boston and the final 41 against Houston on Friday. They have the best record in the East and are making things look easy.

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Stephenson finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and remains the NBA's only player with multiple triple-doubles this season.

Roy Hibbert had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Granger, who missed all but five games last season with a left knee injury and the first 25 this season with a strained left calf, was 4 of 5 on threes. He scored 12 against Boston and has 17 points this season after scoring 27 all of last season.